John Kasich rips Republicans for backing Trump's anti-Obamacare push: 'What are they doing?'

"What are they doing? Are they just passing these things and people are praising what the president did because of politics?" Kasich asked. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

Ohio Gov. John Kasich ripped into Republicans for not caring enough about people when forming healthcare policy and instead jumping to support President Trump's decision to end health insurance subsidies that kept premiums down.

"What are they doing? Are they just passing these things and people are praising what the president did because of politics?" Kasich asked, incredulously, on "Meet The Press."

"Do they understand the impact this has on families? On people? Read the stories of what these people are saying. What is the purpose of this? I've got to say ... this whole issue is about people. It is not about politics. It is not about numbers. It is about people."

Kasich has been an outspoken critic of Republicans who want to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Trump announced last week he was ending subsidies known as cost-sharing reduction payments that send money to insurance companies in order to keep health insurance premiums down for people with pre-existing conditions and the elderly.

Kasich said he couldn't tell if Trump did so to just harm President Obama's signature legislative achievement to undo his predecessor's legacy.

"I can't read people's minds, but what I can tell you is to cut these payments off. And the people are saying, oh, well these are some big bonus to insurance companies," Kasich said. "No, these were payments to insurance companies to make sure that hard working Americans who don't make a lot of money can have their copayments taken care of. It's a subsidy to do that. And what this — what this decision's leading to are higher prices."